Epic defeat patterns apply to stories about America`s defeat in Vietnam

As Rosenberg (1974 ) notes , the defeat of General Custer was publicly position as an epic and heroic one . Epic defeat pattern implies that a hero is defeated in a sanguinary battle where his enemy also suffers considerably . The defeat occurs due to forces beyond the control of the hero , such as enemy 's exceeding number or superiority of their armament The hero is determined to fight till the end , shows no signs of panic or fear , and eventually gloriously dies in the battlefield

Vietnam War produced a different kind of hero . Vietnam veterans

are largely perceived as the victims of their country 's opportunistic foreign policy . O 'Brien (1998 ) in `The Things They Carried ' shows that the American experience in Vietnam was far from epic it was an experience of disillusion , despair , death , and guilt . Since photography rose to prominence during the Vietnam War , images from that era shaped public perception of the war as a shameful and humiliating defeat

A man killing an unarmed and defenseless boy (appendix A ) suggests that the enemy did not have an advantage in number or military technology . A person burning in the street of a busy city (appendix B ) suggest that the war was not an honest and glorious confrontation in the battlefield but rather a series of covert and coward tricks by both sides . Finally a heap of corps in American uniform (appendix C ) suggest that the defeat in Vietnam was tragic , humiliating , and unnecessary

Therefore , it is possible to conclude that the Vietnam War was not framed as an epic defeat by the media it was rather perceived as disgraceful and disappointing experience

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

References Rosenberg , B .A (1974 . Custer and the Epic Defeat . University Park , PA Pennsylvania State University Press

O 'Brien , T (1998 . The Things They Carried , Reprint ed . New York , NY Broadway Books...